Rumor Says iOS 7 Might Feature An iMessage Overhaul

iOS 7 features include a stunning overhaul of the Message app. It’s flatter with simpler colors and functionally, there are some tweaks that will make the messaging experience better. Read more here.

A new Patently Apple post appears to shed some light on what the iMessage could have featured more than what it features now. The patent, filed as early as 2008, has been published by the US Patent Office and duly picked by the popular website that deals with all things related to Apple patents filed in the past.

And so, the story begins.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about iOS 7’s apparent redesign. Ive’s heading the interface design at Apple. There’s talk about how he seems to prefer flat over the skeuomorphic design considerations. And experts concur that Apple desperately needs a major iOS overhaul to keep the competition going. iOS, in its present form, appears to have gone very stale.

The patent, filed in 2008, appears to go over the ways in which a dedicated BBM-style messaging platform will enable individual and group real-time messaging. The protocols appear to enable multi-format messaging which means you get to exchange not just texts.

Even though the patent is over 3 years old now, some important features mentioned in the patent do not appear on iMessage. For instance, there’s still no group messaging option – which is probably why apps like Whatsapp appear to dominate an otherwise saturated market.

Why is this patent, which has been made public by the Patent Office (and therefore, consequently, has no particular significance right this moment) causing a ripple across the iOS platform now? Call it just a stroke of coincidence.

It’s long known that Apple has been trying to make drastic changes to its iOS ecosystem. While the iOS 7 is rumored to have large-scale modifications, it’s unclear whether iMessage will be bolstered with advanced features.

But if Apple does indeed make iMessage even more feature-rich, Whatsapp and other messaging services will have a run for their money.